After contrasting passages to the French Open third round, Friday proved a rest day for Australians Alex de Minaur and Thanasi Kokkinakis as they prepare for major matches at Roland Garros.
Kokkinakis has emerged as the marathon man of tennis but faces another major test against 12th seed Taylor Fritz, while 11th seed Alex de Minaur also faces a tricky challenge against Jan-Lennard Struff, an accomplished clay court player who won a title recently.
On another rain-interrupted day at Roland Garros, Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, world No.1 Iga Swiatek, reigning US Open winner Coco Gauff and three-time major finalist Ons Jabeur were among the stars to progress to the second round.
But there was a significant upset in the men’s ranks, with Andrey Rublev losing his mind when becoming the highest seed to depart, while a Frenchman will forfeit one-third of his prizemoney after hitting a fan when blasting a ball into the stands.
Kokkinakis comes back from 2 sets down! | 00:21
KOKKINAKIS PUTS THE FEET UP
The weather gods may have worked against Thanasi Kokkinakis over the first week of Roland Garros but French Open organisers have acknowledged his heavy load.
The Australian, who will face Taylor Fritz on Saturday for a spot in the last 16, has progressed with marathon matches that have finished near midnight in a sapping week.
The 28-year-old was dreading the prospect of having to play doubles alongside Canadian Denis Shapovalov on Friday given the miles he has in his legs in two five set wins so far, along with the lack of a decent night’s sleep.
Quizzed as to how they would fare against Jackson Withrow and Nathaniel Lammons if forced to back up, Kokkinakis quipped; “Let’s just say our opponents have a good shot.”
But with Shapovalov, who is on the comeback trail, also involved in singles, the clash against the 14th seeds is among the handful not scheduled by Friday, giving the Aussie a breather.
“I don’t think I’ll hit a ball prior to my match against Tyler. I’m just going to try and recover as long as I can,” Kokkinakis said.
The Australian, who overcame a two set deficit for the third time in his career to defeat Giulio Zeppieri on Thursday night, was planning to spend a significant amount of Friday on a massage table ahead of the clash with the 12th seeded Fritz.
The pair have split their only two dating so far, both occurring in Mexico in 2017 and 2018, but Kokkinakis is mindful of the American No.1s quality on all surfaces.
Having retained his spot in the top 100 by matching his run to the third round last year, Kokkinakis believes he is capable of stretching the seed if feeling fresh enough.
He fell to dual-grand slam semi-finalist Karen Khachonov in a physical battle a year ago in the match following his five set triumph over former Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka.
“(He is) a hell of a player. I played him twice, both in Los Cabos, somehow,” Kokkinakis said.
“(Fritz is) a very good player and I think he’s done it a little bit easier than I have to get to the third round. (But) I’m not really thinking much about Taylor. I’m thinking how I can get as close to being in one piece as I can for my match. I know when my body is there, I have a chance against anyone. So I have just got to try.
“I remember last year when I played Karen, I was I battling a bit trying to get into that match physically, so we’ll see. These clay court battles are tough, but yeah, I’m going to try to recover.”
OLD FEUD REMEMBERED AS NICK KYRGIOS NOTES A BERNARD TOMIC WITHDRAWAL
The Australian on the wrong end of Kokkinakis first comeback from a two set deficit at grand slam level was Bernard Tomic in a clash at Roland Garros back in 2015.
Both have endured significant hurdles since then and while the South Australian has been able to find his way back to the verge of a second week at a grand slam, Tomic is still battling away on the back blocks.
To his credit, the former Wimbledon quarterfinalist is working hard to rebuild his ranking while playing for a relative pittance on the ITF circuit and has contested 16 events in 2024.
The 31-year-old, who peaked at a ranking of 17 in 2016, has lifted his ranking from outside the top 300 to 247 this year, winning one low-tier title while earning just short of A$40,000.
Although absent from the main tour, former friend Nick Kyrgios has clearly not forgotten their rivalry based on a social media response to a withdrawal from Tomic this week.
After winning his opening round match at a Challenger event in Little Rock this week, the Queenslander withdrew midway through his second match citing Covid as his reason.
In response to a post from accomplished American broadcaster Mike Cation, who posted about Tomic’s illness, Kyrgios responded with a face palm emoji.
The feud between the firebrands began after Kyrgios pulled out of a Davis Cup tie at Kooyong against America with illness, forcing Tomic to shoulder the load in a challenging tie.
After being served off the court by John Isner, Tomic unloaded on the 2022 Wimbledon finalist, who will return to the All England Club next month as a commentator for the BBC.
As recently as two years ago, Tomic wanted to meet Kyrgios on either the court or in the boxing ring for a purse of $1 million to settle their differences in a sporting contest. The Canberran, for the most part, has been dismissive of his one-time teammate.
For the record, Tomic was not foxing, with Cation reporting he was “quarantining appropriately” with a view to playing in Tyler, Texas, next week.
RUBLEV’S WILD OUTBURST AS FRENCH PLAYER WHACKED WITH MASSIVE FINE
Andrey Rublev is a superb player who has ten grand slam quarterfinals to his name. But he also has a shocking temper at times.
The No.6 seed became the highest-ranked man to exit the French Open on Friday when beaten by Matteo Arnaldi, a promising Italian who has a connection to Melbourne through partner Mia Savio, who was courtside for his 7-6 (6) 6-2 6-4 triumph.
Rublev is an amiable and popular player off the court but his emotions got the better of him on Court Suzanne Lenglen after he dropped the first set, with the Russian’s theatrics similar to that of a toddler throwing their toys out of the cot.
He punched himself in the thighs. He kicked the sponsorship hoardings and his chair. And he howled like a kid who had lost their ice cream.
“(I am) completely disappointed with myself the way I behaved, the way I performed, and I don’t remember behaving worse on a slams ever. I think it was first time I ever behaved that bad,” he said.
“I feel it’s tough to be, in some moments, tough to be kind to myself. Of course, if I was able (to manage my emotions better), I’m sure that those moments will never happen.”
French player Terence Atmane, meanwhile, may have been fortunate to escape being disqualified for hitting a fan with a ball swiped in anger during an opening round loss to Sebastian Ofner but he has been fined more than one-third of his prize money as punishment.
Ofner, who won another five set match over Sebastian Baez in his second round, was surprised his French rival was not banned.
“For me, it was a bit surprising, because if you do something like that on a small court, you have to be punished, you know?” he said. “Because it’s not like you hit the ball normally. It was full power. The ball was so fast. Straight in the crowd. There were people disqualified for less.”
Atmane, who issued an apology via social media two days after the incident last Sunday, was fined A$37,500, which is the largest penalty handed out of the ten issued so far. Rublev, of course, can expect his name to be added to the penalty list in coming days.